Rain Shadow

Golden Retriever and Chuck Johnson are artists unified by their ability to build entire ecosystems of sound. As Golden Retriever, bass clarinetist Jonathan Sielaff and synthesist Matt Carlson blur the lines between their respective instruments while guitarist Chuck Johnson is lauded for crafting a diversity of atmospheres, be it through fingerstyle acoustic or droning pedal steel. The combined powers of the trio is intoxicating. On their debut album, Rain Shadow, they combine slowly shifting instrumental layers and clouds of melody and texture, punctuated by emotional peaks. Minimalist approaches compound into maximalist pieces, evoking images of vast open desert and clear skies, simple yet seemingly endless.